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PvP Assassin Guide

Assassin PvP Builds There are several different combinations that are current being used in PvP Builds. Most assassin builds use 3-5 attack skills, 1 movement skill, 1 healing skill, and a Resurrection Signet. In some places, the Resurrection Signet is replaced with an encounter specific skill. For example, in Fort Aspenwood (Luxon), replace the Resurrection Signet with Expunge Enchantments.

Popular Skills and Combos Here are some of the more commonly used skills.

Aura of Displacement – This is an elite enchantment that allows an assassin to shadow step to their target. The enchantment is maintained and can be canceled at any time. When the enchantment ends, the assassin shadow steps back to where they were when they cast the enchantment. This is considered the best of the assassin shadow step skills because it allows the assassin to shadow step in attack, then shadow step away to safety. The only downside to this skill is that if the enchantment is removed prematurely, the assassin will shadow step away from their target before they are finished.

Black Lotus Strike – Black Lotus Strike is an offhand attack that does a fair amount of damage, and returns energy. It is combined with hexes to quickly deliver a dual attack. There are some nice assassin hexes that work well with Black Lotus Strike like Way of the Lotus, or Assassins Promise. Assassins can also use a mesmer or necromancer secondary to get access to even more hexes. This skill is also good for energy management.

Falling Spider – Falling Spider is a nice off hand attack that does a fair amount of damage, and poisons the target. Many builds rely on some form of knockdown skill, then following up with Falling Spider. Since Falling Spider is an offhand attack, it can be followed with any dual attack for even more damage. Some builds rely on Horns of the Ox for a knockdown, while other builds rely on knockdowns from a secondary class like Shock (Air Elementalist Skill) or Shove (Warrior Tactics Skill). The knockdown also serves to disrupt the target, and render them momentarily helpless.

Golden Phoenix Strike – Golden Phoenix Strike in combination with enchantments allows an assassin to quickly deliver a dual attack of their choice. Aura of Displacement is a favorite choice for enchantments because it allows the assassin to shadow step in and attack, then escape.

Mantis/Jungle Strike – This combination relies on opening with Black Mantis Thrust or Leaping Mantis Sting to cripple an opponent, then following up with Jungle Strike that does extra damage to crippled opponents. This combination cripples your opponent and does a lot of damage.

Mobius Strike – Mobius Strike is an off hand attack that requires the target to be marked with a dual attack. It does a decent amount of damage, and if you hit a target who is below half health, it resets all of you others attack skills. This skill is good for getting off 2 dual attacks in rapid succession.

Palm Strike – Palm Strike is an elite off hand attack that has no requirements. It is a very good opening attack since it allows the assassin to jump straight into a dual attack. Further, Palm Strike deals a lot of armor ignoring shadow damage, so it is good against high armor targets like warriors.

Temple Strike – Temple Strike is a very powerful elite off hand strike. It blinds and dazes the target making it useful against all classes. This skill is often used in anti-monk or anti-caster builds, since the daze condition can shutdown a caster while the assassin kills them.

Twisting Fangs – This is probably the most popular finishing attack. It deals a moderate amount of damage, and gives the target bleeding and deep wounds conditions. The deep wounds alone causes the target to lose 20% of their hit points. Against a target with less than 25-30% health, this attack is almost an instant kill.

Often, you will see two or three of these combinations used together in builds. For example, the Hot Stepper template currently available for PvP Assassins uses a combination of Golden Phoenix Strike, Falling Spider, Twisting Fangs, and Aura of Displacement. It uses Aura of Displacement with Golden Phoenix to shadow step to a target and quickly land Horns of the Ox. The knockdown from Horns of the Ox allows the assassin to use Falling Spider, and then finish with Twisting Fangs before canceling Aura of Displacement and shadow stepping away to safety. If the target isn’t dead, they will be very hurt and suffering from bleeding, poison, and a deep wound.

Basic PvP Tips Here is some general advice for playing an assassin in PvP.

Target Selection – This is probably the most important thing to learn. Know your enemy. Know which classes can counter your attacks and which cannot. A ranger with stances can be a tough kill unless you have a way to counter evade or block stances. If you watch a potential target for a few seconds you can get a general idea of what skill they use. Use this to figure out if they can counter you or not. Also, watching your target can tell you when they have used a crucial defensive skill, and thus you will know when the skill is unavailable. Assassins are at their best against lone targets that are lacking melee defenses.

Know when to run – Assassins are not tanks. They cannot absorb large amounts of damage. It is very important for an assassin to know how to hit and run. Once your opponents start reacting to you, you should be planning your exit. Hit, execute your attack, and get out.

Be patient – This is pretty self-evident. Wait for the right moment. Don’t waste energy setting up an attack that has a low chance of success. While you are recovering from a failed attack (recharging skills and/or recovering energy), you may see a great opportunity that you cannot act upon.

Make your own opportunities – There are times when you can make opportunities for a kill. For instance, attack a player, then pretend to flee. Many players will chase you until you have lured him away from his support, then you can turn and hit them hard. Work to create situations where you are matched up 1v1 against an opponent you are geared to take out.

Assassin Counters Assassins attack quickly and deal their damage by executing an attack chain. If any attack in the chain misses, then the rest of the attack sequence fails, forcing the assassin to start over. In this case the assassin usually has to wait a significant amount of time for their attacks and energy to recharge. This will also cost the assassin any element of surprise they may have had. Evade and block stances are the bane of an assassin, and blind will render an assassin ineffective for the duration.

Assassins do not have a lot of energy, but rely on many energy using attacks. Even a small amount of energy denial can make it difficult for an assassin to finish their attack chain.

Because of the way that dagger dual strikes work, Assassins naturally attack more often than other melee types. This will cause them to take more damage from anti-attack hexes like empathy, reckless haste, and spiteful spirit.